Transportation in Harbin

Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang province, is the political, educational and cultural centre of the province. It is a famous historical and cultural city in china. It is known as "the lilac city", "ice city", "The swan under a pearl", "Oriental Moscow" and "east small Paris". The city has become the most popular winter destination in the world since 1960s for the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. It is a transportation hub with a well-developed transportation system. You can get there by plane, train and long-distance bus. All of them offer great convenience to visitors.

Getting there

◎By Plane

Harbin's main airport is Harbin Taiping International Airport. The airport is not located in the city center and is about a 45 minutes drive outside of the city in the middle of soybean fields. It has international flights to some of these cities: Tokyo, Seoul, Yekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Osaka, Los Angeles, Niigata, etc. The airport have flights to most of the China major cities, such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, xi 'an, Shenyang, Urumqi, etc.

◎By Train

There are many railway transportations with connections to all wind directions that can reach most cities of China, such as Beijing, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jinan, Qingdao, Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Nanchang, xi 'an, Chongqing, Texas, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Baotou, as well as along the town.

The main station is located at Tielu Jie, between Nangang and Daoli districts. When leaving the train, make sure to keep your ticket stub as you need it to exit the train station. There are also some smaller train stations in the city, like Harbin East and others. Harbin West Station (or harbinxi) provides with high speed trains to Beijing. Beware that your ticket may be from this station rather than the main station in town.

◎By Bus

Harbin's major long-distance bus station is located across the square from main train station. There are plenty of buses can reach most cities of china, details are as the following:

Harbin to Beijing - takes about 18 hours

Harbin to Mudanjiang - takes about 4 hours. Departures frequent.

Harbin to Qiqihar - takes about 5 hours

Harbin to Changchun - takes about 4 hours

Harbin to Jilin - takes about 6 hours

Harbin to Dalian - takes about 10 hours

Harbin to Shenyang - takes about 8 hours

Harbin to Wudailanchi - takes about 6 hours

Harbin to Yanji - takes about 9 hours

Getting Around

◎By Bus

Bus is a very convenient way to get around the city. There are over one hundred public bus routes connecting all important spots across the city. Most bus fares are relatively cheap, around ￥1.

◎By Taxi

Taxi is also a good way to travel around. When you take a taxi, you should ask them to run the meter instead of attempting to negotiate a price. The starting fare of taxi is 9RMB (3km) and will charge 1RMB fuel surcharge no matter how far to sit.

◎By Subway

Subway is a very convenient way to get around the city. At present, only Line 1 has been in operation, which is 17.47 km in length and has 17 stations in service. The Line 1 is oriented along the east west axis of the urban area of Harbin: from north-east (Harbin East Railway Station) to south-west (2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University). In the winter time, the metro begins operation at 6:00 am and the last train departs at 9:00 pm. Fares range from Y2-Y4 depending on trip distance.Single-ride and rechargeable fare cards may be purchased at ticket windows or automatic fare card machines in each station.

◎By Boat

Tourists can also get around Harbin by boat. The boat usually (only summer and autumn) cruise to Sun Island, Jinhuewan Wetland, Dadingzishan Navigation-power Junction, Yangming Beach and some other wetland scenic areas in Harbin.